The present invention relates to lawn rakes. More particularly, the present invention relates to lawn rakes having an adaptable shape to control the movement of leaves.
Previously known rakes generally have a group of raking fingers which fan out to form a raking edge. The raking fingers usually extend from a support base which is fastened to a handle, or individual fingers may extend directly from a central point along the handle. The raking fingers may form a slightly arcuate surface, and the ends of the fingers themselves may form a slightly arcuate raking edge. However, flat rakes with straight raking edges are also known.
When raking leaves, or other materials, it is advantageous to have a large raking edge so that a reasonably large amount of leaves may be moved by a single stroke of the rake. However, previously known rakes having a large raking edge suffer from certain disadvantages. For example, the raking fingers nearest the user may pass over the user's feet and deposit leaves and other debris on the user's feet and shoes. Secondly, even if the fingers themselves do not pass over the user's feet, leaves may spill out from the side of the rake onto the user's feet. Attempting to hold the rake further from the body while raking in order to overcome this problem may be tiresome and awkward.
Providing a smaller raking edge may remedy the problem of the raking fingers or leaves passing over the user's feet. However, this solution is not satisfactory because it also decreases the amount of material which may be moved by the rake in a single stroke, thereby forcing the user to make several passes with the rake.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,218, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, shows a rake that substantially eliminates or reduces the degree to which raking fingers pass over a user's feet while still raking a reasonable amount of material in a single stroke. The rake of Pat. No. 5,454,218 has two raking fans, one on either side of the handle. The two fans are of different sizes and are at an angle one with the other. The rake is used by holding it such that the smaller fan is toward the user and the larger fan is substantially perpendicular to the direction of raking. However, the rake is fixed in handedness. That is, it is constructed either for a right-handed person or a left-handed person, but not for both. This requires rake manufacturers to produce two distinctly different types of rakes. It is also difficult for a user of the rake to switch hands in the middle of raking to alleviate fatigue.
It would be desirable to provide a rake that, while allowing a user to rake a relatively large amount of leaves in a single stroke without having the rake or the leaves pass over the user's feet, can be adapted to right-handed or left-handed users.
It would be further desirable to provide such a rake that a right-handed or left-handed user is able to quickly adapt to either left-handed or right-handed use to dispel fatigue.